The Streetcar Strike and the Press
Everett labor leaders push back against media portrayals of the ongoing streetcar strike, demanding an end to misrepresentation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
We have no wish to strike a discordant note in this streetcar controversy. We have been careful to eliminate in all the columns of this issue any writing which might appeal to men's passions and prejudices. We realize the seriousness of the situation and that it is a time for all men to take wise counsel and keep cool-headed. There are some things in connection with this struggle, however, that we do not propose to pass by in silence nor pretend to ignore. We refer to the repeated slams taken at organized labor of this city, both through the news and editorial columns of the daily papers. The unions of this city did not bring on the strike, nor did they welcome it, but they made common cause with the people of Everett in behalf of the car boys. Organized labor has at no time attempted to make this fight conspicuously theirs—it has joined forces with all citizens. The impression has been deliberately conveyed that if organized labor has not actively participated in demonstrations against the company’s property, it has done nothing to prevent them. It was a union man who went to the crowd at Hewitt and Broadway to urge them to desist, and yet the daily press misrepresents us. This fight is but a part of the nation-wide struggle between property rights and human rights—the dollar sign against flesh and blood. It is about time for a showdown: which side of this question is the daily press on—the people’s, or the Stone & Webster corporation?
“This fight is but a part of the nation-wide struggle between property rights and human rights—the dollar sign against flesh and blood.”
The 1910 streetcar strike was a pivotal moment in Everett's history, reflecting the tension between corporate monopolies like Stone & Webster and the growing strength of local labor unions. The Labor Journal's defense of the workers highlights a classic media struggle that continues to resonate as communities weigh the influence of corporate interests against public welfare.
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